South Korea's 'Top Gun' cyber warriors

Lim Chang-Won

Cheon Joon-Sahng may not look like an elite warrior, but the shy, South Korean high school student has been fully trained for a frontline role in any future cyber battle with North Korea.

Cheon, 18, was one of 60 young computer experts chosen in July from many applicants for a government program providing specialist training in vulnerability analysis, digital forensics and cloud-computing security.

In training: A young computer expert studying at the Korea Information Technology Research Institute in Seoul. Photo: AFP

At the end of December their number was narrowed to 20 who completed a further two months survival-of-the-fittest training in cyber warfare.

Earlier this month Cheon was among six who received "Best of the Best" certificates and 20 million won ($17,000) at a ceremony in the state-run Korea Information Technology Research Institute (KITRI) in southern Seoul.

A young computer expert studying at the Korea Information Technology Research Institute in Seoul. Photo: AFP

The training program was launched to reflect growing official concern about South Korea's vulnerability to cyber attack in the wake of two major intrusions in 2009 and 2011 blamed on North Korea.

Government agencies and financial institutions were targeted both times, causing networks to crash and, in the case of one bank, affecting millions of customers who were unable to use credit cards and ATMs for more than a week.

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The tables were turned last Friday when North Korea accused the US and South Korea of carrying out a "persistent and intensive" cyber attack that took a number of its official websites offline.

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"An inter-Korean cyber war is already in full swing," said Lee Seung-Jin, a computer research consultant and a trainer for the government program.

Cheon and his fellow graduates are under no obligation to enter the South Korean military's cyber command.

His immediate goal is to secure a college place and, after graduation, he says he would consider going into the private sector as an internet security consultant.

"But this program played a crucial role in building my career, so I wouldn't mind working as an officer in the military cyber command," he said.

"Ironically, it's the North Korean cyber attacks that have led to all the increased interest and investment in internet security in our country," he added.

South Korea is an IT superpower with good infrastructure but remains relatively vulnerable to hacking.

Park Soon-Tai, Korea Internet Security Agency

The South Korean military set up the special cyber command in early 2010 and, in partnership with Korea University, established a cyber warfare school in 2012 that admits 30 students every year.

On the surface at least, South and North Korea – which remain technically at war – occupy different ends of the IT spectrum.

Broadband speeds and penetration levels in South Korea are among the highest anywhere, and Seoul prides itself on being one of the world's most wired cities.

North Korea, by contrast, has a domestic intranet that allows a very limited number of users to exchange state-approved information and little more. Access to the full internet is for the super-elite only.

As a result, the focus of the South's cyber command is on defensive measures to prevent sensitive, secure networks being compromised.